


Down to the Bone

by EverestV



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, au where max and chloe didn't meet as kids, au where max gets her powers saving kate on the roof instead, this is such a non-fic it was just in my drafts for like two years???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 07:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17976812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverestV/pseuds/EverestV
Summary: prompt: 'it was raining so hard i wasn’t paying attention as i ran into you and your umbrella but we’re both drenched now and also hey there'





	Down to the Bone

Chloe isn’t running away. She’s not. She’s exercising her right to remove herself from a heated situation before it goes to shit more than it already has. She stomps up the stairs with a quick gait, but not because she’s worried about David chasing her. Obviously not. He continues yelling from the kitchen, but he stays where he is. So does her mother, releasing a heavy sigh as her only response.

At the top of the stairs, Chloe immediately rushes into her room and slams the door behind her, revelling in the sound that reverberates and the force that vibrates through her fingers. She paces the room, feeling cluttered and jittery and pent-up and— no, not scared. Angry. Furious. Frustrated, really. She feels claustrophobic and glances across the room, hearing the rumbling storm and pounding rain for the first time.  _ Perfect. _

She’s out the window and clambering down the tree in a second, hitting the soaked ground with a sharp slap of sneakers, and then she’s running down the street in the next, feeling the sky empty out against her bare shoulders. She just runs faster.

It feels better than she thought it would, the rain soaking through her clothes and into the very depths of her bones. She’s cold, but it’s invigorating. The wind is harsh against her face and the lightning is stark in the darkness around her, but she’s never felt more at ease. She’s comfortable, or getting there at least, as her muscles start to unwind. Her boiling blood is quieting in the deafening sound of the night and as she watches her sneakers move beneath her, she breathes without shaking lungs for the first time in a long time.

_ Screw David and screw his bitching. If he wants me out of the house that bad, I’d be more than happy to go. I’m gonna ditch this place sooner or later, I just...god, and screw mom’s disappointed expression every time she looks at me. I didn’t disgrace the family name or whatever the fuck she thinks. _ Chloe scoffs and shakes her head, turning a corner without looking at the street signs, with eyes shut tight against the tears building.  _ Family name. What family? We haven’t been a family since...since forever now. _

“Fuck,” she mutters under her breath when she catches a crack in the sidewalk and almost trips. She runs faster, head down, legs pumping, arms close to her sides, knowing where she’s going by instinct alone. Her mouth fills with a bitter aftertaste. “Fuck.” she says louder, letting the word drench her teeth. “Fuck!  _ Fuck! _ ” Screaming against the rain, she has half a mind to forego visiting the junkyard in favor of stopping wherever the hell she is now, finding the nearest wall and whaling on it until her knuckles are more wet with blood than rain and—

She crashes into something solid and soft. And warm. There’s an umbrella skittering to the ground, her hand tangles in some kind of cord, and then she’s on the ground. If she wasn’t already soaked she definitely is now, finding herself in a deep puddle.

She looks up and meets the eyes of the girl she just ran into.

 

* * *

 

“Shit, hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” The other girl scrambles to her feet and reaches out a hand before realizing the motion also sends Max’s umbrella halfway down the sidewalk. “Fuck, um,”

“Thanks,” Max accepts the help up, stuffing her earbuds in the coat of her pocket and watching the girl chase after the umbrella. She tries to hide her smile at the sight.

“Seriously, though,” The girl says as she returns with her prize. “I didn’t see you, so I didn’t mean...”

Max holds out the umbrella for the two of them to take shelter under and shakes her head. “No, yeah, it’s fine.” The girl doesn’t seem convinced as she shivers in front of Max, clothes completely soaked, one bra strap hanging off her shoulder.  _ God, stop being creepy. _ She glances away and to the girl’s face, noticing the redness in her cheeks and around her eyes.  _ Has she been...crying? Crying, running in the rain, dressed in black leather and metal spikes and vibrant tattoos. _

“Can I...well, I don’t know if I can replace it, exactly, but I might be able to fix it?” The girl continues, not meeting Max’s gaze.

“...fix what?”

“Your camera. I think it’s totally busted. I’m really sorry. Is the lens—”

Max doesn’t hesitate, she doesn’t think, just raises her hand and everything around her stops. She looks down at the camera hanging from her neck, noticing the cracked lens and the cracked frame and the rain that’s no doubt leaking in. She sighs through her teeth before looking to the girl again, mouth frozen in mid-apology, eyes soft and silver, arms curling in on herself. Max stares through the rain droplets hanging and glittering in the air around them.  _ God, I’m an idiot. _

With a little tug from the back of her mind, everything is moving again. She watches as the girl releases the umbrella to the will of the sidewalks, watches as the girl lowers the past-Max to the ground, watches as the two of them spring away from each other and to their feet, watches as the girl starts running again but moving farther away.

She releases just before it all happens and everything is moving forward again. She looks up from her phone this time, sees the girl barreling towards her, and side-steps out of the way. The girl doesn’t seem to notice the almost-collision, just keeps running. Max turns to watch her go, clutching her unbroken camera closer to her chest. She raises her hand again and everything stops once more.

_ This one is better, my camera is fine, neither of us are butt-deep in a puddle, but...she’s still crying and I didn’t ask why. _

She’s rewinding again. To that same moment. She looks up from her phone, tucks her camera into her open jacket, sees the girl, milliseconds tick away, she’s not really sure what she should—

Max leans over to one side and the girl only collides with her shoulder, sending the two sprawling in opposite directions. The girl is tripping, though, scrambling too close to the curb, Max reaches out. She aimed low, she can’t fathom why, and she’s grabbing the girl by the loops hanging off her belt.

Neither fall this time, caught as they are in an almost dance-like dip. They stare at each other in surprise. After a beat, the girl clears her throat and Max lets go, allowing them both to stand on their own two feet. She isn’t sure where her...

The girl seems to snap out of the moment and runs off, Max whipping around to follow only to see her return with her prize, pressing the umbrella back into Max’s hands.

“Uh, sorry. For crashing into you. But, um, thanks. For the save there.” The girl nods along as she talks, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets, elbows locked. Max shrugs and raises the umbrella over both of their hands.

“No problem. Are you okay, though?”

“Huh? Oh,” The girl scoffs and rotates her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m fine, I didn’t even—”

“No, I meant you...well, it kinda looks like you’ve been crying? Is everything alright?”

The girl sniffles on cue, and frowns a bit at her own body’s betrayal. “Yeah, it’s uh...it’s nothing. I’m okay.”

Something in her downcast eyes tells Max not to push it much further, not right now anyway. “Can I...walk you somewhere? Just to get us both out of the rain? There’s a coffee shop around the corner, or...”

The girl tilts her head to the side, the beginnings of a smile perching itself on her lips. “Coffee, huh? With a mysterious stranger I almost ran over?”

“Not mysterious, just Max. And, um, yes? If you want to, uh...?”

“Chloe. And I guess I kinda owe you for that catch anyway.” Max smiles, gripping the handle of her umbrella a little tighter. “Oh, hey, did I hit your camera? Didn’t notice it before.”

Max glances down but quickly returns her gaze to Chloe’s. “No, it’s fine this time.”


End file.
